Again we would say `If Adam died because of sin, He Who removed sin had
to
take away death too.' But just as Adam was told `The day you eat of
the
forbidden tree, you shall die,' but in fact he did not die; but rather
he
received a pledge of his death in the form of being stripped naked of
the
glory and his expulsion from Paradise, after which he was daily pondering
on
death. It is exactly the same with life in Christ: we have eaten His Body
in
place of the fruit of the Tree, and His altar has taken the place of
the
Garden of Eden for us; the curse has been washed away by His innocent
blood,
and in the hope of resurrection we await the life that is to come, and indeed
we already walk in the new life, in that we already have a pledge of it.

--St. Ephrem The Syrian

The Joy of Martyrdom
--------------------
It is said concerning many of the martyrs, that when they foreknew, either
by
revelation or by information received from one of their friends, the day
on
which they were to receive the crown of martyrdom, they did not taste
anything
the preceding night, but from evening till morning they stood keeping vigil
in
prayer, glorifying God in psalms, hymns, and spiritual odes, amd they
looked
forward to that hour with joy and exaltation, waiting to meet the sword
in
their fast as ones prepared for the nuptials. Therefore let us also
be
vigilant, we who are called to an unseen martyrdom so as to receive the
crowns
of sanctification, so that we may never give our enemies a sign of denial
with
any member or part of our body.

--St Isaac The Syrian (Ascetical Homilies, Hom. 37).

We Are All Begging to Have God
------------------------------
It is natural to look for beauty and to love it, even though the idea of
what
is beautiful varies between one person and another. Now, what is
more
marvelous than the divine beauty? What can you think of that is more likely
to
give pleasure than the magnificence of God? What desire could be more
ardent,
more irresistible than the thirst which God inspires in the soul when once
it
has been purified of every vice and cries out: "I am sick with
love" (S. of
S. 2:5).

The divine beauty is beyond description in words. We could compare
its
brilliance to the light of the morning star or the moon or the sun. But
we
should be as far from a true description as midday is from the dead
of
night. This beauty is invisible to the eyes of the body; only the soul and
the
mind can perceive it. Every time it illumines the saints, it leaves in them
a
sting, a nostalgia so strong as to wring from them the cry: "Woe is me,
that I
am in exile still" (Ps. 120:5).

By our nature we human beings aspire to what is beautiful and love it.
But
what is beautiful is also good. God is good. Everyone looks for the
good,
therefore everyone looks for God.

--St Basil the Great

Our Faith and Love towards Christ
---------------------------------
Only let us be found in Christ Jesus unto the true life. Apart from Him,
let
nothing attract you, ... None of these things is hid from you, if ye
perfectly
possess that faith and love towards Christ Jesus which are the beginning
and
end of life. For the beginning is faith, and the end is love. Now these
two,
being inseparably connected together, God will be present in your life, and
all
other things which are requisite for a holy life follow after them. Let
us
therefore do all things as those who have Him dwelling in us, that we may
be
His temples, and He may be in us as our God, which indeed He is, and
will
manifest Himself before our faces, if we justly love Him...

Suffering Brings us Near to God
-------------------------------
Make me suffer to become food for the wild beasts, through
whose
instrumentality it will be granted me to attain God... Then shall I truly be
a
disciple of Christ... I know what is for my benefit... Let fire and the
cross;
let the crowds of wild beasts; let tearings, breakings, and dislocations
of
bones; letting cutting off of members; let shatterings of the whole body;
and
let all the dreadful torments of the devil come upon me: only let me attain
to
Jesus Christ.

-- St Ignatius of Antioch (To the Romans, 4-5; ANF I, 75-76)

He Who Is Near The Sword Is Near God
-------------------------------------

He who is near the sword is near God; he that is among the wild beasts is
in
company with God; provided only he be so in the name of Jesus Christ.
I
undergo all these things that I may suffer together with Him, He
inwardly
strengthening me.

-- St Ignatius of Antioch (To the Smyrnaeans, 4; ANF I, 88)

Love Never Faileth
------------------
But sight shall displace faith; and hope shall be swallowed up in that
perfect
bliss to which we shall come: love, on the other hand, shall wax greater
when
these others fail. For if we love by faith that which as yet we see not,
how
much more shall we love it when we begin to see! And if we love by hope
that
which as yet we have not reached, how much more shall we love it when we
reach
it! For there is this great difference between things temporal and things
eternal, that a temporal object is valued more before we possess it, and
begins
to prove worthless the moment we attain it, because it does not satisfy
the
soul, which has its only true and sure resting-place in eternity: an
eternal
object, on the other hand, is loved with greater ardor when it is in
possession
than while it is still an object of desire, for no one in his longing for
it
can set a higher value on it than really belongs to it, so as to think
it
comparatively worthless when he finds it of less value than he thought; on
the
contrary, however high the value any man may set upon it when he is on his
way
to possess it, he will find it, when it comes into his possession, of
higher
value still.

-- St Augustin (On Christian Doctrine, I, 38)

The Spirit of God and the Church
--------------------------------
The gift of God (the Spirit) has been entrusted to the Church, as breath was
to
the first created man, for this purpose, that all the members receiving it
may
be vivified; and the [ means of ] communion with Christ has been
distributed
throughout it, that is, the Holy Spirit, the earnest of incorruption, the
means
of confirming our faith, and the ladder of ascent to God... For where
the
Church is, there is the Spirit of God; and where the Spirit of God is, there
is
the Church, and every kind of grace; but the Spirit is thruth.
Those,
therefore, who do not partake of Him, are neither nourished into life from
the
mother's breasts, nor do they enjoy that most limpid fountain which issues
from
the body of Christ.

-- St Irenaeus (Against Heresies, III, 24, 1)

The Spirit Brings Us to Unity
-----------------------------
This Spirit, as Luke says, descended at the day of Pentecost upon the
disciples
after the Lord's ascension, having power to admit all nations to the
entrance
of life, and to the opening of the new covenant; from whence also, with
one
accord in all languages, they uttered praise to God, the Spirit
bringing
distant tribes to unity, and offering to the Father the first-fruits of
all
nations. Wherefore also the Lord promised to send the Comforter, who
should
join us to God. For as a compacted lump of dough cannot be formed of dry
wheat
without fluid matter, nor can a loaf possess unity, so, in like manner,
neither
could we, being many, be made one in Christ Jesus without the water
(the
Spirit) from heaven.

-- St Irenaeus (Against Heresies, III, 17, 2)

The Mystery of the Cross
------------------------
As we lost Him (the Word) by means of a tree, by means of a tree again He
was
made manifest to all, showing in Himself the height, the length and
the
breadth, and, as a certain man among our predecessors (Paul),
observed,
"Through the extension of His hands, gathering the two peoples to one
God." For
there were two hands, because there were two peoples scattered to the ends
of
the earth; but there was one head in the middle, as there is but one God,
who
is above all, and through all, and in us all.

-- St Irenaeus (Against Heresies, V, 17, 4)

God for your sake humbled Himself
---------------------------------
God, for your sake humbled Himself, and you will not be humbled for your
own
sake?! The Lord Himself who is the Way and is God, after He came not on
His
own behalf but for you so that He might be an example for you of
everything
good, see, He came in such humility, taking "the form of a slave"
[Philippians
2:7], He Who is God, the Son of God, King, the Son of King ... But do not
despise His divine dignity, as you look at Him, externally humiliated as
one
like us. For our sakes He so appeared, not for Himself... When they spat in
His
face and placed a crown of thorns on Him and hit Him, what more
humiliation
could He have yet undergone?... If God condescends to such insults
and
sufferings and humiliation, you, who by nature are clay and are mortal,
no
matter how much you are humiliated, will never do anything similar to what
your
Master did. God, for your sake, humbled Himself and you will not be
humbled
for your own sake?!

-- St Macarius the Great (Homily 26, 25-26)

Communion with God
------------------
Therefore, as I have already said, He (Christ) caused man to cleave to and
to
become one with God. For unless man had been joined to God, he could never
have
become a partaker of incorruptibility. For it was incumbent upon the
Mediator
between God and men, by His relationship to both, to bring both to
friendship
and concord, and cause God to welcome man, and man to present himself
to
God. For, in what way could we be partakers of the adoption of sons, unless
we
had received from Him through the Son that fellowship which refers to
Himself,
unless His Word, having been made flesh, had entered into communion with
us?
Wherefore also He passed through every stage of life, restoring to
all
communion with God.

--St Irenaeus (Against Heresies III, 18, 7)

The Aim of the Incarnation
--------------------------
I would wish to speak about a more subtle and profound topic to the best of
my
ability. Wherefore, listen attentively to me. The infinite, inaccessible
and
uncreated God has assumed a body, and on account of His immense and
ineffable
kindness, if I may say it, He diminished Himself, lessening His
inaccessible
glory so as to be able to be united with His creatures, so they can be
made
participators of divine life [2 Peter 1:4]. God who transcends all
limitations
and far exceeds the grasp of our human understanding, through His goodness
has
diminished Himself and has taken the members of our human body which
He
surrounded with inaccessible glory. And through His compassion and love
for
mankind, taking upon Himself a body, He mingles Himself and becomes
"one
spirit" [1 Corinthians 6:17] with them, according to Paul's
statement. He
becomes a soul, if I may so say it, in a soul, substance in substance so
that
the soul may live in God, and sense the immortal life and become a
participator
in eternal glory.

--St Macarius the Great (Homily 4, 9-10)

The Good Shepherd lays down His Life for the Sheep
--------------------------------------------------
After describing the really good shepherd as one who is ready to die on
behalf
of the sheep, and willing to lay down his life for them, and since He
knows
that He Himself is going to lay down His life for the sheep, with good
reason
He again cries aloud: I am the Good Shepherd... The really Good Shepherd
died
for our sakes, that He might take us out of the dark pit of death and
prepare
to enfold us among the companies of heaven, and give unto us mansions
above,
even with the Father, instead of dens situated in the depths of the
abyss...
Nevertheless we must remark that Christ did not unwillingly endure death on
our
behalf and for our sakes, but is seen to go towards it voluntarily,
although
very easily able to escape the suffering, if He willed not to suffer.
Therefore
we shall see, in His willingness even to suffer for us, the excellency of
His
love towards us and the immensity of His kindness.

--Saint Cyril the Great (On John X, 12-15)

He was tempted that we might conquer
------------------------------------
Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us. Let us become like
God
for His sake, since He for ours became Man. He assumed the worse that He
might
give us the better; He became poor that we through His poverty might be rich
[2
Corinthians 8:9]; He took upon Him the form of a servant that we might
receive
back our liberty; He came down that we might be exalted; He was tempted that
we
might conquer; He was dishonoured that He might glorify us; He died that
He
might save us; He ascended that He might draw to Himself us, who were lying
low
in the Fall of sin. Let us give all, offer all, to Him Who gave Himself
a
Ransom and a Reconciliation for us. But one can give nothing like
oneself,
understanding the Mystery, and becoming for His sake all that He became
for
ours.

--Saint Gregory Nazianzen (The 1st Oration; 2nd Sermon)

The Life-giving Power of God
----------------------------
In what manner can man upon earth, clothed as he is with mortality, return
to
incorruption? I answer, that this dying flesh must be made partaker of
the
life-giving power which cometh from God. But the life-giving power of God
the
Father is the Only-begotten Word: and Him He sent to us as a Savior
and
Deliverer. And He became flesh in order that, having implanted Himself in us
by
an inseparable union, He might raise us above the power both of death
and
corruption. For He clothed Himself in our flesh, that by raising it from
the
dead, He might prepare a way henceforth, by which the flesh which had
been
humbled unto death might return anew unto incorruption... And Paul
testifies
"For as man is death, by man is also the ressurection of the
dead" [1
Corinthian 15:21]. Therefore by having united unto Himself that flesh which
was
subject to death, the Word being God and Life drove away from it
corruption,
and made it also to be the source of life... When therefore we eat the
holy
flesh of Christ, the Saviour of us all, and drink His precious blood, we
have
life in us, being made as it were, one with Him, and abiding in Him, and
possessing Him also in us.

--St Cyril the Great (On Luke 22:19).

Let us gladly mount upon the cross
----------------------------------
It's the Lord's Passover! At this season, let different persons bring
forth
different fruits and offer different offerings. But let us sacrifice to
God
the sacrifice of praise upon the heavenly Altar, with the heavenly
dances...
Shall I mention what is even a greater thing? Let us sacrifice ourselves
to
God; or rather let us go on sacrificing throughout every day and at
every
moment. Let us accept anything for the Word's sake. By sufferings let
us
imitate His Passion: by our blood let us reverence His Blood: let us
gladly
mount upon the Cross. Sweet are the nails, though they be very painful. For
to
suffer with Christ and for Christ is better than a life of ease with
others.

--Saint Gregory Nazianzen (The 2nd Oration on Easter 45, 2 & 23)

One For All
-----------
For one lamb died for all, bringing the whole flock on earth back safely to
God
the Father; one for all, that He might bring all under subjection to God,
one
for all, that He may gain them all; "that for the future they might
all no
longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose for them. For when
we
were guilty of many sins, and for that reason were liable to death
and
destruction, the Father gave a ransom for us, one for all, since all things
are
in Him, and He is greater than all. One died for all, Death devoured the
Lamb
on behalf of all, and then vomited all in him,and with him. For we were all
in
Christ, who died and rose again on our account, and on our behalf. And when
sin
has been annihilated, then death, of which sin is the source and cause,
must
needs be annihilated too.

--Saint Cyril of Alexandria

The Cross: Proof of the Greatest Love
-------------------------------------
Does not Saint Paul on every occasion show us that the death of Christ is
the
greatest proof of His love for us? He thus says: "God shows His love for
us in
that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" [Romans 5:8]. Also, for
this
reason, does not he take pride and yearn all the more, nay, even leap for
joy
and flutter his wings, as it were, when he writes to the Galatians: "far
be it
from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ"
[Galatians
6:14]. Even Christ Himself, who endured these sufferings calls them His
Glory
[John 17:1]! And when He wished to show us His love, what did He mention?
His
signs or miracles or wonders? Never! He but laid His cross in the
middle
saying: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son"
[John 3:16].
And so did Saint Paul say: "He who did not spare His own Son but gave
Him up
for us all, will he not also give us all things with Him?" [Romans
8:32]. And
when he exorts to love, he raises this same type in the middle saying:
"Love
one another, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant
offering
and sacrifice to God" [Ephesians 5:2].

--Saint John Chrysostom (Homily on Divine Providence 17:1-7)

He was accursed for us that He might deliver us from the old curse
------------------------------------------------------------------
In His own Person, He bore the sentence righteously pronounced against
sinners
by the Law. For He became a "curse for us", according to the
Scripture: "For
cursed is everyone", it is said, "that hangeth on a tree."
[Galatians 3:13].
And accursed are we all, for we are not able to fulfill the Law of God:
"For in
many things we all stumble" [James 3:2]; and very prone to sin is the
nature of
man. And since, too, the Law of God says: "Cursed is he who continues
not in
all things that are written in the book of this Law, to do them"
[Galatians
3:10], the curse, then belongs unto us, and not to others... Therefore, He
Who
knew no sin was accursed for our sakes, that He might deliver us from the
old
curse. For all-sufficient was the God Who is above all, so dying for all;
and
by the death of His own Body, purchasing the redemption of all mankind.

--St Cyril the Great (On John 19:17-18).

He came to reside among us to put away sin
------------------------------------------
In ancient times the Word came to the individual saints and sanctified
those
who sincerely received Him. When they were born no one said that the
Word
became man; and when they suffered, no one said that the Word had suffered.
But
when, out of Mary, He came to reside among us "once at the end of ages
to put
away sin" [Hebrew 9:26] --- for it was the Father's good pleasure to
"send His
own Son, made of woman, made under the law" [Galatians 4:4] --- then
it was
indeed said that He had taken flesh and become man, and that in that flesh
He
had suffered for us --- in the words of Peter, "Christ therefore
suffered for
us in the flesh" [1 Peter 4:1]. This was to demonstrate and to make
us all
believe that He who is eternally God, who sanctifies those to whom He has
come,
and who rules all things in accordance with the Father's will, had subsequently
also become man for our sake. As the apostle says, "the Deity
dwelt" in the
flesh "bodily" [Colossians 2:9]. This is equivalent to saying that,
while being
God, He possessed a body of His own and that, using this as an instrument,
He
became man for our sake.

--St Athanasius the Great (Against the Arians III, 31).

He carried all our sufferings to deliver us from them
-----------------------------------------------------
Just as death was brought to naught in no other way than by the Death of
the
Saviour, so also with regard to each of the sufferings of the flesh: for
unless
He had felt dread, human nature could not have become free from dread;
unless
He had experienced grief, there could never have been any deliverance
from
grief; unless He had been troubled and alarmed, no escape from these
feelings
could have been found. And with regard to every one of the affections to
which
human nature is liable, you will find exactly the corresponding thing
in
Christ. The affections of His Flesh were aroused, not that they might have
the
upper hand as they do indeed in us, but in order that when aroused they
might
be thoroughly subdued by the power of the Word dwelling in the flesh,
the
nature of man thus undergoing a change for the better... For the Word of
God
made one with Himself human nature in its entirety, that so He might save
the
entire man. For that which has not been taken into His nature, has not
been
saved.

--St Cyril the Great (On John XII, 27)

Union with Christ
-----------------
Just as the root of the vine ministers and distributes to the branches
the
enjoyment of its own natural and inherent qualities, so the Only-begotten
Word
of God imparts to the Saints as it were an affinity to His own nature
...
insomuch as they have been united with Him... And the Savious Himself says:
"He
who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in him." For
here it
is especially to be observed that Christ said that He shall be in us, not by
a
certain relation only, as entertained through the affections, but also by
a
natural participation. For as, if one entwines wax with other wax and
melts
them by the fire that results of both, so through the participation of the
Body
of Christ and His precious Blood, He in us, and we again in Him, are
counited.